Nowadays, it's nearly impossible to follow sports and not be hammered over the head by their "fantasy sports" equivalents.

Considering their widespread proliferation, it's surprising somebody hasn't figured out a way to apply fantasy sports to high schools. (Maybe somebody has, it's hard to say what people do in their spare time these days, right?)

Now if you were going to cook up a high school basketball fantasy draft, limiting the player pool to the region, here's a pretty great starting five. Not only would this hypothetical team be hard to beat, if we applied "keeper" rules, it'd be tough to stop next year, too, since it's comprised entirely of juniors.

Bear in mind this team would probably be better as an actual team on the court rather than one racking up fantasy points.

So without any further ado, let's unveil my one-man high school fantasy basketball draft.

The 7-footer who transferred from Trinity Catholic is averaging a double-double with 6.5 blocks for good measure. Chukwu's team-first mentality will mesh well with the rest of my starting five.

As Jesuit coach Leo Redgate says about Chukwu, "We don't speak about any individual stats, and to his credit, he understands that they mean very little in our efforts to make him a more complete player and get better every day. We have four starters averaging double figures and Paschal is more proud of the fact that we play like a team, not his own results."

We'll let Chukwu patrol the paint, rebound and swat anything that comes in his direction, letting the wins pile up in the process.

Pick No. 2: Quincy McKnight, guard, St. Joseph: One problem many pro teams have run into -- think the Los Angeles Lakers' situation -- is that adding a bunch of stars together on the same team doesn't necessarily work. Everybody wants their touches, so often egos win out over chemistry.

This isn't a worry with McKnight (17.1 ppg.), who is a winner first and foremost. It's all he knows at St. Joseph with back-to-back Class LL titles.

Last year he was a third option, this year he's the go-to guy, showing he can thrive in both roles. With McKnight you'll get an athletic finisher, end-to-end defender and, most importantly, a leader. Think of him in the Scottie Pippen role with the old Bulls teams.

"Being named captain made me change how I looked at the team," McKnight said earlier this month. "I didn't think I was going to be captain as a junior. I'm trying to push everybody."

That's the attitude this hypothetical squad needs.

Pick No. 3: Issac Vann, forward, Bunnell: Call this a pick based on upside, or ESPN draft analyst Jay Bilas' favorite term, "length." Vann (21.4 ppg) is a long and lanky swingman, well worthy of his nickname "Mr. Showtime."

"I like to put on a show," the 6-3 Vann said Tuesday. "I like to dunk. I like to get the crowd hyped."

At Bunnell, Vann plays a combination of both forward spots and center, using his freakish athleticism to block shots and fill up the stat sheet, making him the region's breakout -- and perhaps the most fun to watch -- player this winter.

"He's tough to stop when he gets it going under the basket," Bunnell coach Pat Yerina said.

Pick No. 4: Ian Gardner, forward, Kolbe Cathedral: Gardner is a lot like Vann, albeit without as much flash. Unlike Vann, who has 21-point scorer Matt Nolting and rising sophomore Ryan Pittman to help him out, Gardner is doing a little bit of everything for the Cougars to shoulder the load each night.

"He's pretty much been the catalyst," coach Chris Smith said. "He does it all for us. He can do it all. He can handle the ball. He can shoot."

The 6-4 Gardner (21.6 ppg) came to Kolbe playing center but has progressively improved his perimeter game each season, making him a tricky matchup.

"He works hard in practice," Smith said. "He puts in a full two hours and that carries over into games."

A hard worker with versatility? Sign him up.

Pick No. 5: Tyler Ancrum, point guard, Central: Asked who is the best player in the Bridgeport area, McKnight picked Ancrum. He might not be far off base.

The only freshman to start under Barry McLeod at Central, Ancrum has gotten better as the year has progressed. More than that, on a Hilltoppers' squad lacking a senior, Ancrum's evolved into a steady floor general.

"It's not all about me," Ancrum said. "It's trying to make everybody score and be on the same page."

As dynamic as anyone with the ball in his hands, on this squad, Ancrum would only need to facilitate, racking up assist after assist. The potential alley-oops Ancrum could feed Vann would likely need their own section on YouTube.

For all the potential numbers this team could put up, the most important would be wins. Going into play Thursday, the combined record of these five star juniors' teams is a sterling 57-10.